In the never ending quest to find the fastest Tier 1 truck, I sold my '00 Volvo. That Volvo was the fastest truck in Tier 1. With all the chiken lights and in full repair with fresh tires it would reach a terminal velocity of 86 mph. After 40,000 miles, fresh tires would only bring it to 84 mph(and it quickly dropped to 83). I was hoping to get the legendary triple digit (88.8 mph) Tier 1 truck. As a result, I was seduced by the 56% tire condition and original 67 mph top speed of the '99 Freightshaker condo. After full modifications and fresh tires the Freightshaker will run only 85 mph. (Possible Bug - on the truck lot load limit shows as 41,082 lbs. After purchase load limit is 48,307 lbs) I need to do some research on how mileage and tire condition effects speed.

Here's how it broke down on the '00 Volvo. The saleable modifications brought in $10,625. Remaining modifications had a retained value of $12,611.03. Subtracting that from the total trade-in value of $22,981.19, leaves the trade-in value of the truck alone at $10,369.66. Original purchase price was $15,817 for a net cost of $5,447.34. Amortized over 42,323 miles that makes the depreciation of the truck alone approximately 12.9 cents per mile. Full modifications had an original cost of $27,750. (Yes, I spent more on chrome and chiken lights than I did to buy the truck. Just another ultra-realistic feature of this game.) Modifications, saleable and retained, had a final value of $23,236.03 for a depreciation of $4513.97, or approximately 10.7 cents per mile. (This is not an entirely true number since the modifications were accumulated as finances allowed. The true depreciation if installed at purchase would be higher.)

Equipment depreciation of less the 25 cents per mile allows a new driver in the game, even without joining a company for assistance and contracts, to haul cheap freight(75 cent/mi), be long term profitable and survive Tier 1. Nice work Jeff & Co.! I was wrong. Freight rates do not suck. A new driver without a company who does intelligent load planning that maximizes freight rates can be very profitable. In fact, for a driver who really watches cost and profit like intelligent owner operators do, that might be considerably more entertaining than running these gravy contracts with assistance. Repair and tire costs will be an issue for these drivers.

The problem in load planning, trip planning, and controlling costs is fuel prices. With an average fuel price of $3.15/gal and Tier 1 trucks starting at 4.5 mi/gal and getting up to 9+ mi/gal, fuel costs at $0.70/mi to $0.35/mi are survivable. But at 4.5 mi/gal, or an average $0.70/mi fuel cost, you're close to the edge of profitability and you need to get smart real fast. What makes this difficult is not the actual fuel prices. It is that since they change every 24 hours, intelligent trip planning and therefore cost control, is impossible. A chron job to get fuel prices to change with the freight would be a relatively simple change that would make trip costs predictable and gameplay more entertaining. In our current configuration, fuel prices are effectively random and completely unpredictable making cost control impossible. In short, FUEL PRICES SUCK!

Truckers Inc. - You will hear the jakes, smell the brakes, and see the diesel smoke blowing from your speakers.LongRider Radio - The soundtrack for life on the road. Keeping truckin' music alive. http://www.live365.com/stations/longriderrr - The road. The life. The music.

That's some nice researching. I've always wondered whether one could survive without driving for a company. In all honesty, I don't think many would dig this deep to pick the truck they want to drive around in. My personal feeling as I could care less how fast my rig goes comparing it to another. If I can get it over ninety with the shutters open, I'm good. this isn't to say I ever take her over ninety though as I'm a believer in keeping to the speed limit. Nevertheless,, that is an excellent compilation of truck statistics.

(10-13-2013 11:47 AM)Bonzai Wrote: I need to do some research on how mileage and tire condition effects speed.

Speed is a function of engine and tyre conditions. The milage actually makes no difference to the stats (except price).

(10-13-2013 11:47 AM)Bonzai Wrote: Equipment depreciation of less the 25 cents per mile allows a new driver in the game, even without joining a company for assistance and contracts, to haul cheap freight(75 cent/mi), be long term profitable and survive Tier 1. Nice work Jeff & Co.! I was wrong. Freight rates do not suck. A new driver without a company who does intelligent load planning that maximizes freight rates can be very profitable. In fact, for a driver who really watches cost and profit like intelligent owner operators do, that might be considerably more entertaining than running these gravy contracts with assistance. Repair and tire costs will be an issue for these drivers.

There is some reasoning behind the various freight prices. We didn't get it all right though so there will be tweaks when the update finally arrives (no I don't know when).

(10-13-2013 11:47 AM)Bonzai Wrote: The problem in load planning, trip planning, and controlling costs is fuel prices. With an average fuel price of $3.15/gal and Tier 1 trucks starting at 4.5 mi/gal and getting up to 9+ mi/gal, fuel costs at $0.70/mi to $0.35/mi are survivable. But at 4.5 mi/gal, or an average $0.70/mi fuel cost, you're close to the edge of profitability and you need to get smart real fast. What makes this difficult is not the actual fuel prices. It is that since they change every 24 hours, intelligent trip planning and therefore cost control, is impossible. A chron job to get fuel prices to change with the freight would be a relatively simple change that would make trip costs predictable and gameplay more entertaining. In our current configuration, fuel prices are effectively random and completely unpredictable making cost control impossible. In short, FUEL PRICES SUCK!

I'm not sure about that change. If you can't get to a fuel stop within a day in a T1 truck you'll probably be running out of fuel anyway, plus 5 days a week you would lose the chance to wait out a bad price and hope for a price the next day. Then again you already have up to 24 chances per day to randomly find a good price on the road so maybe city prices don't need to changing so often.

(10-13-2013 04:53 PM)AerodyneNine Wrote: I've always wondered whether one could survive without driving for a company. In all honesty, I don't think many would dig this deep to pick the truck they want to drive around in.

This lends itself to the single player being able to get sub contracts.

The "start a company" fee could be replaced by a "Business License" allowing single player/owner operators to trip lease single loads from companies.

This was the way things were done at one time. You hauled something, somewhere, then called contacts there or watched a load board for something else, going somewhere else.

Just a thought to make the game interesting to those not looking for a team or community vibe. The competition then becomes one against one. Ranking by assets only makes more sense when looking at individual assets.

(10-13-2013 04:53 PM)AerodyneNine Wrote: That's some nice researching. I've always wondered whether one could survive without driving for a company. In all honesty, I don't think many would dig this deep to pick the truck they want to drive around in. My personal feeling as I could care less how fast my rig goes comparing it to another. If I can get it over ninety with the shutters open, I'm good. this isn't to say I ever take her over ninety though as I'm a believer in keeping to the speed limit. Nevertheless,, that is an excellent compilation of truck statistics.

Just noticed your ad for Longrider Radio....Thanks!

Thankya... thankya veramush

Truth is, the speeding thing is mostly for the sake of humor. Being a Truckers Inc. driver with our big paying contracts and solid assistance, I can afford to blow some money for a few laughs.

But the numbers... that is the background music that is always floating around in a driver's mind. Where am I? How far is it to the drop? What time do I have to be there? What's my average speed? What does my average speed need to be? How much fuel is left onboard? What's my fuel consumption? What's my range? How many hours left in my logbook? How far to the next fuel stop? Is that water temperature too high? Do I have time for a shower? Everything that a driver does, and most of what he thinks, is about time/speed/distance calculations. The flowing dynamic nature of driving creates a constant stream of mathematics and calculations. This is a thinking man's business.

Owner operators have all that and a whole other level of calculations driven by the imperative of simple survival and the reward of profitability. O/Os live and die by cost per mile. What does this freight pay? Is the broker taking deductions? What does fuel cost? What is my maintenance schedule? When is the truck payment due? What's my tire life? What kind interest am I getting on my escrow accounts? They think and talk about depreciation and amortization. And they're always looking for the next good paying freight.

And almost every problem of almost every driver can be solved with more miles!

The true beauty of Truckingsim is that, unlike the crash and burn BS of the video games, this IS like Real Life trucking. Truckingsim is a reasonably accurate recreation of the mathematics and calculations of Real Life trucking. This is a very good version of the real mental game that drivers constantly run in their minds out there on the road. Thank you Jeff & Co. It has been a great ride.

And I appreciate ya listening to my radio station. It started a little hobby but it has evolved into a real passion. So much of trucking culture is fading away. I have become really dedicated to creating a place drivers can find today's trucking music. I want all y'all to listen to my radio station, LongRider Radio. http://www.live365.com/stations/longriderrr

I have Tier 1 truck with over 2400 mile fuel range. My old truck was almost 2500. I reckon that with modifications, the majority of Tier 1 trucks would have a range well over 1500 miles.(7.5 mpg x 200 gal.) If I was a solo driver and I got got good paying freight, I wouldn't short hop it for cheap fuel. For $1.50 a mile I'm going stay under it, go coast to coast and take the EL hit for cheap fuel in Omaha. But wait, we no idea what fuel prices are in Omaha and can not decide where to stop while enroute. Effectively we have random fuel prices. Half the time you're gonna get screwed. And you know how life works, it will usually be when you can least afford it. This being a mental, calculation based game, being able predict and choose freight, routes and costs is essential to game play. This is a thinking man's game. Fuel is far and away the major direct operating cost and it is random. I'm not going to let go of this one Boss. This might be my one true contribution to Truckingsim. We have thrown fuel prices to the wind.

Fuel Prices Suck!

Truckers Inc. - You will hear the jakes, smell the brakes, and see the diesel smoke blowing from your speakers.LongRider Radio - The soundtrack for life on the road. Keeping truckin' music alive. http://www.live365.com/stations/longriderrr - The road. The life. The music.

You know Bonsai, I took a sabbatical from the game. One of the main reasons I gravitate to games basically comes down to do I feel like I'm involved in the industry I'm trying to simulate? What drove me away in a nutshell was too many folks were trying to add things to this sim to make it interesting...as if it was boring.

I guess if you love trucking, and you can't drive a truck, well, this is probably the next best thing to simulate it. If you want to simulate Football, or dominoes, or whatever, there is a site for it, but this place is for folks who want to be involved in Trucking.

It was nice to come back and read your post on how you feel about this sim because it summarizes exactly how I feel.

With the way your dissecting the stats here, I have no doubt you will be at tier 5 and owning your own company in no time.

...and like Mega said, dyed in the wool Pete fan is going to drive a Pete....even if that ugly Mack or Freightliner tops out 5 or 10 MPH faster....I'm a KW fan, worked for them for seven years, so I reckon I'll always drive KW.

(10-13-2013 04:53 PM)AerodyneNine Wrote: That's some nice researching. I've always wondered whether one could survive without driving for a company. In all honesty, I don't think many would dig this deep to pick the truck they want to drive around in. My personal feeling as I could care less how fast my rig goes comparing it to another. If I can get it over ninety with the shutters open, I'm good. this isn't to say I ever take her over ninety though as I'm a believer in keeping to the speed limit. Nevertheless,, that is an excellent compilation of truck statistics.

Just noticed your ad for Longrider Radio....Thanks!

Thankya... thankya veramush

Truth is, the speeding thing is mostly for the sake of humor. Being a Truckers Inc. driver with our big paying contracts and solid assistance, I can afford to blow some money for a few laughs.

But the numbers... that is the background music that is always floating around in a driver's mind. Where am I? How far is it to the drop? What time do I have to be there? What's my average speed? What does my average speed need to be? How much fuel is left onboard? What's my fuel consumption? What's my range? How many hours left in my logbook? How far to the next fuel stop? Is that water temperature too high? Do I have time for a shower? Everything that a driver does, and most of what he thinks, is about time/speed/distance calculations. The flowing dynamic nature of driving creates a constant stream of mathematics and calculations. This is a thinking man's business.

Owner operators have all that and a whole other level of calculations driven by the imperative of simple survival and the reward of profitability. O/Os live and die by cost per mile. What does this freight pay? Is the broker taking deductions? What does fuel cost? What is my maintenance schedule? When is the truck payment due? What's my tire life? What kind interest am I getting on my escrow accounts? They think and talk about depreciation and amortization. And they're always looking for the next good paying freight.

And almost every problem of almost every driver can be solved with more miles!

The true beauty of Truckingsim is that, unlike the crash and burn BS of the video games, this IS like Real Life trucking. Truckingsim is a reasonably accurate recreation of the mathematics and calculations of Real Life trucking. This is a very good version of the real mental game that drivers constantly run in their minds out there on the road. Thank you Jeff & Co. It has been a great ride.

And I appreciate ya listening to my radio station. It started a little hobby but it has evolved into a real passion. So much of trucking culture is fading away. I have become really dedicated to creating a place drivers can find today's trucking music. I want all y'all to listen to my radio station, LongRider Radio. http://www.live365.com/stations/longriderrr

I have Tier 1 truck with over 2400 mile fuel range. My old truck was almost 2500. I reckon that with modifications, the majority of Tier 1 trucks would have a range well over 1500 miles.(7.5 mpg x 200 gal.) If I was a solo driver and I got got good paying freight, I wouldn't short hop it for cheap fuel. For $1.50 a mile I'm going stay under it, go coast to coast and take the EL hit for cheap fuel in Omaha. But wait, we no idea what fuel prices are in Omaha and can not decide where to stop while enroute. Effectively we have random fuel prices. Half the time you're gonna get screwed. And you know how life works, it will usually be when you can least afford it. This being a mental, calculation based game, being able predict and choose freight, routes and costs is essential to game play. This is a thinking man's game. Fuel is far and away the major direct operating cost and it is random. I'm not going to let go of this one Boss. This might be my one true contribution to Truckingsim. We have thrown fuel prices to the wind.

Fuel Prices Suck!

You are right about RANDOM fuel prices !! At the start we followed everyone else & purchased terminals, thinking we could control our fuel costs to some degree ?! That didn't work as the detours to terminals added miles & time to hauls & most times prices had changed ?- plus there is a DAILY fee on terminals ?! SO we buy fuel enroute @ $2.50 - $2.80/gln when needed !! 59 terminals @ $6 grand min = $354 grand outlay + $885 daily fee ! Prefer keep it in ORCAS Bank earning interest ?!We seem to be doing AOK ?!

Aero, I was gone for quite a while too. I was on a regular Houston to Edmonton run with expedited oilfield LTL and with a dumb phone so I couldn't keep up here. I've been at the house for a while and I only run 150 miles a day and I get about 6-800 miles a month at the wheel of a big truck so life is getting pretty quiet. OK, so I blew the motor in my little sports car and I'm in a slowass fuel suckin' SUV. I'm trying to be monogamous so I can't chase random women anymore. And worst of all, I found myself playing those stupid, truly pointless games on facebook. For some time now I've been trying to trim my life back to the things that really matter, things that I feel strongly about. What happens to this game and to this crew matters to me. And it has for a long time. Truckingsim is my game. My only game.

Trucking is my life. Far, far more than a job, far more than a business, trucking is a way of life, a lifestyle. I live and breath and teach trucking. I wake up dreaming of the road. Even though I am at the house, I am not home. My home is out there on the wind in the middle of nowhere, a long way from anywhere. I want to go home again.

When I came back I was disappointed but not surprised to find my driver reset to zero. But it was pretty cool to start with $25k. (Do new drivers still start at $10k?)

I appreciate how some of you might have some serious brand loyalty. But after years of having trucks kicked out from under me like some pony express rider and especially all the POS trucks I've driven, I'm a big fan of any truck that reliably starts and runs and steady pulls every day.

It is unlikely that I will ever reach Tier 5, or for that matter, Tier 2. I have volunteered for a kamikaze mission to do some serious statistical research on speeding and it's associated violations. (That's my story and I'm stickin' to it) I know that some of you would like to know how to speed successfully. Unfortunately, this is proprietary information. You will have to become a Truckers Inc. driver before I can share how to cover the maximum distance in the shortest possible time at the greatest possible velocity. This can be done drivers. Flip on those chiken lights and stay hammer down. Touch the brakes, set those cows and take the curve. Nothin' out there but a hundred miles of whup 'n ride. I'll be on your front door.

And as to owning a company - not interested. I am a Truckers Inc. driver. I was here the day the company was formed. And I ran with this same crew back in Trukz days. I'll stay where I'm at, thank you.

I have been considering starting another driver to run as an independent wildcat in order to study the true operating cost for an experienced owner operator. That would be very satisfying for me. Sortable columns in city statistics have made it a lot easier. And OTP's trip lease idea(which I think he has suggested before) would be a great help to independents. Nevertheless, I have held off. Why? Because...

Fuel Prices Suck!

(10-13-2013 11:33 PM)ozwiz Wrote: You are right about RANDOM fuel prices !! At the start we followed everyone else & purchased terminals, thinking we could control our fuel costs to some degree ?! That didn't work as the detours to terminals added miles & time to hauls & most times prices had changed ?- plus there is a DAILY fee on terminals ?! SO we buy fuel enroute @ $2.50 - $2.80/gln when needed !! 59 terminals @ $6 grand min = $354 grand outlay + $885 daily fee ! Prefer keep it in ORCAS Bank earning interest ?!We seem to be doing AOK ?!

At the beginning you followed Truckers Inc., the orignal all terminal company. But you did it for the wrong reason. Early on, we made the strategic decision to have full terminal(in fact depots) coverage in order to collect the 8% depot delivery bonus and eliminate fueling EL, increasing miles hauled. This pays for daily fees, increases miles hauled, and reduces the drivers effective collection rate. It is pointless and hopeless to try to control random fuel costs. Resistance is futile. Why? Because...

Fuel Prices suck!

Truckers Inc. - You will hear the jakes, smell the brakes, and see the diesel smoke blowing from your speakers.LongRider Radio - The soundtrack for life on the road. Keeping truckin' music alive. http://www.live365.com/stations/longriderrr - The road. The life. The music.